Grab your surf wax and your wetsuit and make waves at boutique stay Noah Surf House on Portugal’s Silver Coast (if you forget either, the hotel has your covered, of course). Little surfer dudes and dudettes are welcome, there’s an onsite skate park, a glittering sea-view pool and the rooms and bungalows are reclaimed boho beach style at its best. If the restaurant were any more beachfront, it would be lapped by waves; up on the roof, the bar makes itself even more enticing with an alfresco hot tub and a bonfire pit. Whether you’re looking to get amped or hang loose, you’ll find your wave-riding joy at Noah Surf House.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A cocktail each; GoldSmiths can also join one group yoga session a stay

At the hotel

Our favourite rooms

All rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and an eclectic mix of repurposed and upcycled furnishings. If you like to keep your own snacks on hand, spring for a Mar & Cook Bungalow – you’ll get your own kitchenette and fridge to raid at will when that saltwater-based hunger strikes.

Poolside

The infinity-edged looks out over the sea and is open from 8am to 10pm; it's heate by solar panels from April to October.

Activities

Swimming pool

The heated infinity pool is family-friendly, but there’s no lifeguard on duty, so water babies will need to be supervised.

Meals

Kids are welcome in the restaurant and meals can be adapted for younger palates.

No need to pack

Baby cots or pint-sized skateboards, bike helmets or surfing kit.

Eco&dash;friendly

Electricity is generated by solar panels and the hotel eschews air-conditioning (the cooling sea breeze does the trick). Rainwater and grey water are recycled, there’s an organic garden on site and many of the furnishings and building materials were upcycled.

Food and Drink

Top Table

Snag a table on the terrace for a side of salty sea breezes, or watch the waves from a table by the picture windows.

Dress Code

Dust off the wet sand and slip into some fresh flip flops and a suitably beachy frock for laid-back meals at the seaside restaurant.

Hotel restaurant

Noah Blue Café is inside of the Surf House; settle in for lunches of sandwiches, burgers and salads or pick something from the Grab & Go menu to eat at the beach. For dinner there’s fresh fish, satisfying steaks and burgers big enough to match the appetite you worked up in the waves. Parched? Order juices, cocktails, coffees, spirits and wine whenever you please. The second eatery, Noah’s Restaurant and Beach House is across the street from the hotel, on the sands of Praia da Física. The long pine tables are positioned for sea-view meals and the terrace is strung with lanterns. There’s also a cosy fire pit that’s cranked up when the sea breeze takes a chilly turn. The menu has a mix of Portuguese and international fare – all made with fresh, local ingredients that include goodies picked from the hotel’s organic garden. Order tempura battered cod with spicy saffron aioli or salted sea bass and remember, with homemade salted butter that’s this good, you’re not ruining dinner by indulging in the bread basket; you’re simply being smart. Adventure-fuelling buffet breakfasts are laid out in the hotel’s communal kitchen each morning; fresh eggs, fruit and juices, cereals, homemade cakes, yoghurts and jams.

Hotel bar

Watch the waves from the relaxed rooftop bar; there’s an alfresco hot tub to one side and shade-providing parasols to the other. Order tart pisco sours and sink into the sea-facing lounge chairs as the sun sets over the horizon.

Last orders

Noah Restaurant & Beach House is open from 10am to 10pm.

Room service

The bar is open throughout the day and night for tipples and snacks; there’s also a communal kitchen where guests are welcome to whip up snacks any time they’d like.

Location

Address

Noah Surf House is in the coastal town of Santa Cruz, an hour’s drive north of Lisbon.

Planes

Lisbon Airport is 50 minutes away by car; return transfers can be arranged from €150, depending on how many of you are travelling.

Automobiles

Torres Vedras is 35 minutes away by car and there’s free onsite parking at the hotel (although you’re unlikely to spend much time on dry land once you’re there).

Worth getting out of bed for

You’re here – most likely – for the surf, and the in-house team and predictable small- and medium-size waves won’t let you down; this boho beach shack is all geared up to have you hanging ten in no time. If you've ever harboured a desire to land a 900 like Tony Hawk, here’s your chance: Noah Surf House has an on-site skatepark complete with boards to hire and pros to take you from Tick-tacks to Ollies and grinds. Work on your surfing stamina with functionaltraining sessions that use fitballs, bands and ropes in the hotel’s fitness room, limber up with in-house yoga sessions and become one with your centre of gravity by learning to paddleboard. Portugal’s west coast is dotted with prime surf spots; relatively calm Santa Cruz is midway between Ericeira and Peniche; the former has a variety of beach breaks, points and reef breaks, and the latter is home to the world-class Supertubos, one of the best beach breaks in Europe, and beaches with waves for all levels of surfers – from Moondoggies to tube (water, not London’s underground) riders. Gnarly Nazaré is known for massive, powerful waves and towering winter swells; it’s best to leave this spot – now a part of World Surf League – to the professionals, but it’s well worth a trip to watch them catch some serious air or ride the barrels.

Local restaurants

Enjoy leisurely lunches at in Santa Cruz at Vela d’Ouro, which serves up traditional local fare – seafood rice, shrimp dishes and freshly caught cod. For laid-back dinners, head down the road to Ericeira’s Praia de Ribeira D’Ilhas, where you’ll find the Pizza Mobile firing up thin, Neapolitan-style pizzas from 6pm to midnight every Tuesday to Sunday. Don your best espadrilles for dinner at Tawa Sushi for surf-fresh sashimi and sushi, all locally sourced – most from the Torres Vedras Municipal Market. Tackle the colourful Gunkan Carnival platter, or order up sharing plates of sea bass, snapper and mackerel.

Local bars

Order a refreshing post-surf melon and mint juice and sink your toes into the sand at Bronzear Bar & Deli, a chilled out beach café with a small menu of burgers, wraps and salads. Looking for something a bit louder? DJs regularly spin well into the wee hours at this beachfront bar, where refreshing juices can quickly become fruity cocktails with a dash of this or that.

Reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this beachside hotel in Portugal and unpacked their wetsuits and surf ponchos, a full account of their boutique break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Noah Surf House in Santa Cruz…

Noah Surf House is making waves in the charming village of Santa Cruz with its bevy of beach-view bungalows, an eco-conscious ethos and a surf-ready setup – only fitting for its position on Portugal’s west coast, famed for abundant waves. No worries, though… you needn’t arrive ready to push past the breakers at infamous Nazaré to catch a wave: Noah’s in-house surf school will get you from wetsuit novice to sitting on top of the world in no time. (You can also brush up on your balance with yoga lessons, cross-training and sessions in the onsite skate park.) And when you’ve worked up a whale-sized appetite? Well, that’s what the mod-Portuguese restaurant – steps from the sand, of course – is for. Once you’ve had your krill – sorry, your fill – retire to the rooftop restaurant for a fortifying drink and a muscle-reviving soak in the hot tub. Surf city, here we come

The Guestbook

Whenever you book a stay at a Smith hotel or villa, we’ll invite you to review it when you get back. Read what other Smith members had to say in Noah Surf House’s Guestbook below.

We loved

A stylish and casual beach hotel. The rooms are cool and the pool is chic. Breakfast was delicious and everything was home-made.

Don’t expect

A remote place – it's right in the village and the beach is across the street. In the morning, there is noise from the street traffic.

Rating

ByPetra, GoldSmith

Stayed on 21 Aug 2019

We loved

The room, the layout and the location! The local food is fantastic as well.